“A bird with a broken wing will never fly as high.” I’m sure that John would agree with this saying, _______ he felt this way almost every day in school.

By high school, John was the most famous _______ in his town. He was always absent, didn’t answer questions and got into _______. He had failed almost every exam by the time he entered his senior year, yet was _______ each year to a higher grade level. Teachers didn’t want to _______ him again the following year. John was moving on, but definitely not moving _______.

I met John for the first time at a weekend leadership training program since John was one of 405 students who _______. At the start of the training, John was just standing _______ the circle of students, against the back wall. He didn’t _______ join the discussion groups. But slowly, the interactive games ________ him in.

The ice really melted when the groups started building a list of ________ and negative things that had occurred at school that year. John ________ some constructive ideas on those situations. The other students in John’s group ________ his comments. All of a sudden John felt like a ________ of the group, and before long he was ________ like a leader. By the end of the training, he had joined the Homeless Project team. The other students on the team were ________ with his passionate concern and ideas. They ________ elected John co-chairman of the team.

John started ________ at school every day and answered questions from teachers for the first time. He led a second project, ________ 300 blankets and 1,000 pairs of shoes for the homeless shelter from house to house.

A bird with a broken wing only needs ________. Once healed, it can fly higher than the rest.

I can vividly remember watching the animal documentaries on PBS when I was growing up. There was something about the wild that was _________. In spite of my love of the society of lions nothing _________ me more than the speed and agility of an antelope.

In one documentary, the lions _________ their prey (猎物) of choice and with every piece of artistic talent the producer had he tried to indicate that it was all over for this _________ antelope. The lions were in _________ and the first female lion made a lunge (猛冲) for the _________ of the antelope. The antelope _________ in her current position and the lion must have miscalculated because she _________ her neck by centimeters. Without a second of _________ the antelope exploded with such force and __________ that the other lions drew back and __________ trying to play catch-up.

The lions were __________ than the antelope, and they were smart. When they got close enough to the antelope, they __________ one of their paws (爪子) to trip the __________ animal. Now I don’t know if this antelope had one of those rear-view cameras (后视镜) but every time a lion got close she would change direction, __________.

When pressure came from a different- __________ she changed direction. When she could feel the breath of her __________ on her neck she changed direction. She ran until they stopped running after her. This antelope had __________. She was running for her life.

If you feel __________ and things are not going the way they should, change __________. Be the antelope. Run for your life.

For a long time, a boy wondered why his deskmate was always the first in the class, whereas he could only rank 21st. He asked his mom, “Am I more stupid than others? How come I always ___?” Mom was aware that her son’s self-respect had been damaged by the ___ system.  

She had intended to say that intelligence ___ and that her son’s friend was really smarter. But finally she ___ the intention to say it.  

After entering high school, her son tried as hard as he could, but her son’s friend was still ___ to him. But she was ___ of her boy for his hard work. She decided to take him on a trip to the ___. On the trip, she at last ___ an answer for him.  

Today her son no longer ___ rankings. He is now a top student in the top university he ____. Invited to speak at his old high school, he mentioned the valuable childhood ____: Once, on a trip to the sea, my mom said to me, “Do you see the seabirds ____ food out there? When a wave comes near, the little birds rise quickly. The ‘clumsy’ seagulls (海鸥) are far less ____ and have to struggle to get away from the____. But these ‘clumsy’ birds prove to have the biggest, strongest wings, which allow them to travel the ____ and leave the little birds behind. Son, I feel you are one of these seagulls.”